Eggless eggs are next in plant-based craze

Impossible Foods' Sheetal Shah on the company's partnership with OSI Group in an effort to expand production and the company's continued efforts to improve the quality and nutrition of its products.

Kroger is adding plant-based egg alternative Just Egg to shelves at 2,100 stores across the country, just as Canadian favorite coffee chain Tim Hortons announced it is testing Just Egg on its menu at select locations.

The product, made from mung bean protein, canola oil, onion puree and turmeric, imitates the taste and texture of real eggs. Tim Hortons joins other fast food chains that are satiating consumers’ cravings for non-animal proteins like plant-based burgers.

SelectTim Hortons locations are substituting typical animal products like chicken eggs with replacements like Just Egg on their breakfast sandwiches.

According to the chain, three tablespoons of Just Egg is equivalent to one chicken egg and provides five grams of plant-based protein. Typically, one whole egg has about 6 grams of protein. The coffee chain has also offered breakfast sandwiches made with Beyond Meat.

"We believe a just food system starts with breakfast and our partnership with the Kroger family of stores, the largest grocery store chain in the United States, makes JUST Egg accessible to countless consumers in communities around the country,” Just Egg CEO Josh Tetrick said in a statement.

According to a report from The Good Food Institute, grocery store sales of plant-based foods that replace animal products have increased 31% over the past two years, reaching $4.5 billion annually. Overall sales of plant-based foods spiked 11% this year and 31% over the past two years.

Just Egg's egg alternative is made with mung bean protein, canola oil, onion puree and turmeric.

Comparatively, total US retail food dollar sales rose just 2 percent over the past year and 4 percent in the past two years, per the study.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

Gregory’s Coffee and New York plant-based burger chain Next Level Burger also offer the eggless product. Several fast food stores recently debuted meatless alternatives on their menus, including Del Taco’s Beyond Taco, Burger King’s Impossible Whopper, and Dunkin’s Beyond Sausage Breakfast Sandwich.